Lone Worker Welfare Checks: Is It Time for a New Approach?

Why Rely on Scheduled Welfare Checks When Workers Can Access Help 24/7?

Whether it's a scheduled phone call, a text message at agreed intervals or a check-in with a colleague, traditional welfare checks have long been used to help employers keep track of employees working alone or in potentially hazardous situations.

But what happens if an emergency occurs between checks? And could there be a more effective way to protect workers without interrupting their day or placing additional demands on managers?

Today, professionally monitored lone worker safety solutions offer an alternative, giving employees access to emergency assistance around the clock while helping employers manage their safety responsibilities more efficiently.

What Are Lone Worker Welfare Checks?

Lone worker welfare checks are a way for employers to confirm that employees working alone or in potentially hazardous environments are safe. They typically involve regular communication at agreed intervals throughout the working day.

They typically involve one or more of the following:

• Scheduled telephone calls: The lone worker calls a manager or colleague at agreed intervals, or receives a call to confirm they're safe.
• Text-message check-ins: The lone worker sends a message at predetermined times to confirm their wellbeing.
• Outsourced welfare-check services: An external provider manages scheduled calls or messages and follows up on missed check-ins.
• Buddy systems: Colleagues take responsibility for checking on one another during their shifts.

These arrangements have helped many organisations maintain contact with their employees, particularly when working away from colleagues or supervisors.

However, they also have limitations worth considering.

The Limitations of Traditional Welfare Checks

An Emergency Can Happen Between Checks

Imagine a lone worker sends a text confirming they're safe at 10:00 am. Ten minutes later, they experience an emergency. If their next scheduled check-in isn't until 11:00 am, there could be a significant delay before anyone realises something is wrong.

A welfare check confirms that someone was safe at a particular moment, but it cannot necessarily tell you what happens between checks.

For employees working in higher-risk environments, the time between an incident occurring and someone recognising that assistance is needed can be particularly important.

They Can Interrupt the Working Day

Whether someone is visiting a customer, carrying out maintenance, cleaning a building or attending an appointment, having to make or answer scheduled calls, or remember to send regular text messages, can interrupt their working day.

These interruptions can disrupt workflows, extend the time needed to complete tasks and affect concentration or work quality. Even a quick text message requires employees to stop what they're doing and shift their attention away from the job.

Missed calls or messages don't necessarily mean there's a problem, either. An employee might simply be busy or unable to respond, potentially triggering unnecessary follow-up activity.

They Require Time, Resources and Administration

Whether welfare checks are carried out internally or outsourced, managing them requires time and resources.

Even when employees are responsible for initiating welfare checks, someone still needs to monitor their responses. This can involve tracking scheduled calls or messages, identifying missed check-ins and following up with employees who haven't responded.

For organisations with multiple lone workers, these tasks can quickly become time-consuming, particularly when managers are balancing welfare checks with their other responsibilities.

Outsourced services can reduce the internal workload, but they may introduce additional costs depending on the frequency and level of service required.

Our article on using a buddy system to keep workers safe explores some of these challenges.

Responding to an Emergency Can Be Challenging

What happens if a lone worker reports an emergency during a scheduled check-in or contacts their designated buddy for help?

While colleagues and managers can provide valuable support, they may not have the training or experience needed to assess an emergency and coordinate an appropriate response.

If the worker can clearly explain what's happened, where they are and what assistance they need, arranging help may be relatively straightforward. However, genuine emergencies aren't always that simple. Stress, panic, injury or a rapidly developing situation can make it difficult to communicate essential information.

Without established emergency response procedures, valuable time could be lost trying to understand the situation, establish the worker's location and determine the appropriate next steps.

The issue isn't that traditional welfare checks have no value. It's that there are now other ways to achieve their safety objectives, potentially with fewer interruptions and a more responsive emergency procedure.

How Can Professional Lone Worker Monitoring Improve Employee Safety?

Rather than relying solely on scheduled calls or text messages, professionally monitored lone worker safety solutions give employees a way to request assistance whenever they need it.

With SoloProtect, emergency alerts are received by a dedicated 24/7 Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC), where trained operators assess the situation and follow agreed response procedures.

Depending on the circumstances, this may involve communicating with the worker, contacting nominated escalation contacts or arranging an appropriate emergency services response.

Operators can also use available location information from supported devices to help establish where the worker is, even if they're unable to clearly communicate their location.

This provides an important distinction from traditional welfare checks: employees have access to professional emergency support without having to wait for their next scheduled contact.

Professional monitoring doesn't mean someone is continuously watching or listening to employees. Instead, the service is available around the clock to respond when an alert is activated.

Different Ways to Stay Protected

SoloProtect devices and the mobile app offer a range of safety features designed to support different working environments and risks.

• Red Alert: If a worker feels threatened or needs urgent assistance, they can discreetly raise an emergency alarm, connecting them to SoloProtect's 24/7 Alarm Receiving Centre.
• Man Down: The device or app can automatically raise an alert if it detects a worker is incapacitated following a slip, trip or fall, providing additional protection when someone may be unable to call for help.
• Ready2Talk: Workers can proactively speak with an ARC operator when they feel uncomfortable or would benefit from additional support, without needing to raise an emergency alarm.
• Check-In: Employees can record details about their location, activities and potential risks before starting a task, providing valuable context if an emergency occurs.
• Monitoring Timer: For specific activities, workers can set a timer that raises an alert if it expires without being cancelled.

Together, these features provide more flexible protection than relying solely on scheduled telephone calls or text messages. Employees can request help when they need it, share important safety information and benefit from additional safeguards appropriate to their working environment.

Greater Visibility and Oversight with SoloProtect Insights

Alongside professional monitoring, SoloProtect Insights gives employers access to a centralised platform for managing and reviewing their lone worker safety arrangements.

Administrators can access:

• Alert information: Review alerts and incident details to support follow-up and reporting.
• Activity and usage: See how employees are using their devices and safety features.
• Location information: Access available location data.
• Reporting: Identify usage trends and review safety arrangements.

This gives employers greater visibility of their workforce's safety activities, without relying on manual call records or spreadsheets, helping them manage their lone worker safety provision more efficiently.

What Are the Benefits of Professional Lone Worker Monitoring?

Moving away from routine welfare checks can offer advantages on both sides.

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The most appropriate approach will depend on the risksemployees face, the nature of their work and the arrangements already in place.

Do Employers Still Need to Carry out Welfare Checks?

Employers have a responsibility to assess and manage the risks associated with lone working, including making suitable arrangements to monitor employees and maintain contact.

However, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) doesn't prescribe regular welfare calls or messages as the way to achieve this.

Its guidance recognises several approaches, including regular contact and manually or automatically operated warning devices.

The right arrangements will depend on the work being undertaken, the risks involved and the individual employee's circumstances.

A suitable lone worker risk assessment can help determine what protection is needed.

It's also important to recognise that welfare checks sometimes serve a wider purpose, such as maintaining personal contact or supporting employee wellbeing. Those conversations can remain valuable even where routine safety checks are replaced by technology.

For many organisations, however, professionally monitored safety solutions can provide an effective alternative to scheduled safety checks, while giving employees more direct access to emergency assistance.

Could Your Organisation Benefit From a Different Approach?

Traditional welfare checks have played an important role in employee safety for many years. But as technology has evolved, so have the options available to employers.

With SoloProtect, workers have access to multiple ways of raising an emergency alert, backed by a professional Alarm Receiving Centre operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Employers also benefit from reduced routine administration and greater visibility of their safety arrangements through SoloProtect Insights.

Whether you're reviewing an existing welfare-check process or exploring options for the first time, it may be worth considering whether professionally monitored protection could offer a better solution for your workforce.

Looking for a more effective alternative to traditional welfare checks?

Discover how SoloProtect can help you protect your people, reduce unnecessary interruptions and simplify your safety arrangements.